Morton Middle, UMass Dartmouth team up on community service initiative

Wednesday

Apr 2, 2014 at 11:51 PMApr 2, 2014 at 11:53 PM

Michael Gagne Herald News Staff Reporter @HNMikeGagne

FALL RIVER — While reciting “I am Morton. I am Fall River. I will get things done,” students at Morton Middle School pledged on Wednesday morning to strive to perform 60 hours of community service over the course of the next year.

The pledge was led by college students from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Leduc Center for Civic Engagement.

Sixty hours of community service in one year adds up to a little more than an hour of service per week.

Speakers told students during assemblies that community service can take on many forms — whether it’s participating in a group cleanup at nearby North Park, serving meals to the hungry and homeless, or planting trees throughout the city.

Morton Principal Sheryl Rabbitt said service learning had already been integrated into the school’s academic enrichment programs.

“There are a number of ELT (Expanded Learning Time) courses that actually have in its heart community service,” Rabbitt told students, noting classes called Community Service, A Wish Come True and Crafting for a Cause.

“One of the things we try to honor is the memory of James Madison Morton, the namesake of the building, who dedicated life to the service of Fall River,” Rabbitt said, noting that this is the first time Morton is partnering with the Leduc Center.

“We talk a lot about the school being built for you. Not only this building, but all of the buildings,” Rabbitt said. “That is virtually unheard of, the number of new school buildings in the community, in Fall River ... It’s quite testimony to community service, to giving back.

“Every day I ask you guys to pull each other up,” Rabbitt said. “We just had our MCAS. We talk about our standards being high. We’re sort of pulling each other up.

“This idea ... it goes back to the roots of the school. (It’s an) important message for you to carry on.”

UMass Dartmouth students discussed what motivates them.

“Home is the reason I serve,” said Arlene Balwin, reciting from a poem she had written for the occasion. “Leadership is what I’m teaching the next generation. One hour a day can really go a long way.”

Alejandro Lopez told Morton students he picked up leadership skills in middle school from community service projects he was involved in with the Boston Food Bank.

“You take something from it,” Lopez said. “I encourage all of you guys to do community service.”

“Just speaking out will make a difference,” said Nick Botelho, referencing Martin Luther King Jr.’s efforts during the Civil Rights Movement.

While looking over his audience of seventh- and eighth-graders, Mayor Will Flanagan told them, “I see our next police officers, firefighters, doctors, teachers.

“We’ve got to make sure the next generation of leaders has a strong city. How do you make a city strong? You get involved,” Flanagan said. “No matter how bad you think your day is going, always remember there is somebody out there who has it worse.”

Flanagan added, “It all comes down to what type of community you want to inherit when you become adults.”

He introduced “Tree Lady” Mary Ann Wordell, the president of the Fall River Street Tree Planting Program. That morning, Wordell, a graduate of the old Morton, received a citation for her commitment to urban forestry.

“I came here today with the understanding I was hopefully coming to find some volunteers to help with the cleanup scheduled for North Park,” Wordell said. That clean up is scheduled in the middle of April. Then there’s a tree planting on May 3.

Just before dismissing students to their next class, Rabbitt told them, “I’m looking forward to having awesome community service projects.”